Transformed by the Renewal

Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

In yesterday’s article, I wrote about being renewed day by day. Do not worry about the external self growing old, but renew your inner self day by day. The apostle Paul again writes about renewal and how we ought to go about this.

While we shouldn’t focus on our external selves, we should still choose to live a holy life with our bodies. This can encompass our thoughts, our words, and how we treat other people. To make our bodies a living sacrifice to God, we should be submitting our will and our actions to the will of God. This is how we worship the Lord spiritually, through submission and holy living.

How does one live or present themselves as holy? We definitely don’t want to present ourselves in a way that appears like a false pretense, but we should be genuine with how we live. We should genuinely not be conformed to the world. Not in pursuit of the world’s pleasures and vices. Not living our life for what the world has to offer. But we should be living a life full of love for the Lord and for everyone else. 1 John 4:20-21 “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

Our minds will be transformed when we break away from the grip of the world through the power of God. We will be renewed, changed, and different from the way we used to be. Our priorities will have shifted, our attitudes will have softened, our eyes will be lifted up instead of looking around.